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US anger over Zawahiri’s presence in Kabul key reason for Taliban travel ban

Sep 12, 2022 05:16 PM IST

Zawahiri was sheltering in a house in central Kabul owned by a top aide to Taliban deputy leader and interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani

As anger over al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri’s presence in Kabul was one of the main reasons behind the decision not to extend a United Nations waiver allowing Taliban officials to travel abroad, people familiar with the matter said.

Zawahri, who led the terror network following the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011, was killed in a US drone strike in Kabul on August 1. (REUTERS)
Zawahri, who led the terror network following the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011, was killed in a US drone strike in Kabul on August 1. (REUTERS)

Zawahri, who led the terror network following the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011, was killed in a US drone strike in Kabul on August 1. At the time, Zawahiri was sheltering in a house in central Kabul owned by a top aide to Taliban deputy leader and interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani.

In June, a UN Security Council sanctions committee currently led by India voted to remove two middle-ranking Taliban leaders from a sanctions exemption list because of the Taliban’s failure to deliver on pledges to protect the rights of women and children.

When the renewal of the sanctions exemption list for 13 other Taliban leaders came up before the sanctions committee last month, the US proposed re-imposing the travel ban on seven Taliban leaders and retaining the exemption for six others while limiting their travel to Qatar, the people said.

Russia and China opposed the US move and proposed that all 13 Taliban leaders be given exemptions from the travel ban for three months in order to travel to Russia, China, Qatar, and unspecified regional countries. However, the joint Russia-China proposal was opposed by France and the UK, the people said.

With no agreement between the 15 members of the UN Security Council, the travel waiver expired on August 19.

“There was growing concern in the US side on the Taliban regime’s repeated failures to deliver on commitments regarding the rights of women, children and minorities. The anger over Zawahiri being found in Kabul added to that and led to the decision to restrict the movements of Taliban leaders,” one of the people cited above said.

“From now on, every request for foreign travel by Taliban leaders will be taken up individually by the sanctions committee and decisions made on a case-by-case basis. Without clearance, they will be unable to travel,” a second person said.

In recent years, concern has grown in the US, several European countries, and even in India about the Taliban leadership misusing the travel waiver.

“Even before their takeover of Kabul, the Taliban leaders who benefited from the travel waiver were visiting countries where they had no real business,” a third person said, pointing to visits to Central Asian countries and Iran by leaders who were granted an exemption from the travel ban.

The US had decided to allow some Taliban leaders to travel to Qatar as the American administration has had most of its dealings with the group in Doha, where the Taliban have had a political office since 2012.

Experts have said the Taliban’s refusal to bring their setup in Kabul in line with international laws and norms leaves few options but to impose sanctions. “As much as you offer latitude to the Taliban, they think that’s a reflection of their strength and they show no commitment to international norms,” Shinkai Karokhail, a former Afghan lawmaker, told VOA recently.

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